Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Angelo Prisco, 69-year-old lieutenant in the Genovese Crime Family, was found guilty yesterday of conspiring to kill his first cousin, Angelo Sangiuolo, in 1992, according to a story by Thomas Zambito of the New York Daily News. Prisco (right) also was convicted of participating in a string of gunpoint robberies in the 1990s and of extorting money from individuals and businesses.

Prosecutors say Vincent "the Chin" Gigante, then boss of the Genovese clan, ordered the hit on Sangiuolo. Prisco then assigned underling John Leto and another man to kill Sangiuolo. The victim was lured to a Bronx social club and told to get into a van with Leto, who shot him to death, prosecutors say. The body was left in the van, as Leto drove away in a car with Prisco.

Prisco's trial lasted two weeks, according to a press release distributed by the FBI. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing on July 23.

Prosecutors say Prisco was inducted as a member of the Genovese Family in the late 1970s and later was promoted to capodecina. He oversaw a crew of Genovese soldiers and associates in New York City and nearby New Jersey. A state inquiry was launched several years ago when Prisco, a resident of Toms River, New Jersey, was paroled from a New Jersey prison just four years into a 12-year sentence for arson and conspiracy.

St. Laurent one week ago pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted the murder of a rival in the New England Crime Family. A federal grand jury indicted him earlier this month. The not guilty plea was entered by his court-appointed lawyer Olin W. Thompson. Thompson noted that John Cicilline is expected to take over the case.

In response, Magistrate Lincoln Almond said St. Laurent could be compelled to pay for Thompson's services if he discovers that the veteran mobster had sufficient resources to hire his own lawyer.

Cicilline has represented a number of New England Mafiosi in the past, including St. Laurent, reputed crime family lieutenant Edward C. Lato, racketeer Matthew L. Guglielmetti Jr. and Robert P. "Bobby" DeLuca Sr. St. Laurent is now charged with attempting to hire an assassin to kill DeLuca. St. Laurent and DeLuca have been rivals for years. Since the mid-1990s, DeLuca has accused St. Laurent of being an informant for state and federal authorities. St. Laurent denies the accusation.

St. Laurent is currently serving a five-year sentence for extortion at a federal prison in Fort Devens, Massachusetts.